Rep. Vasquez Introduces Bill to Help Protect New Mexicans from Natural Disasters, Establish Resiliency Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On September 8, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) introduced the bipartisan Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience (CLEAR) Act, a bill to help communities better prepare for and recover from extreme weather and natural disasters.

The CLEAR Act invests $100 million annually over five years to help states, territories, and Tribes establish or expand resiliency offices and save lives. This push to bolster resiliency offices is critical for strengthening disaster mitigation, infrastructure protection, and climate adaptation planning. Modeled on successful state-level initiatives like the Colorado Resiliency Office, these programs also help communities anticipate future risks and coordinate recovery resources to build long-term resilience.

“Disasters like the recent flooding in Ruidoso and Salt and South Fork fires are the new normal, and New Mexicans know firsthand how wildfires, drought, and floods can devastate lives in an instant,” said Vasquez. “As the climate changes and becomes more extreme, our communities need better tools to fight back and protect working families. We must act now to ensure New Mexico is prepared for the future.”

The CLEAR Act builds on Vasquez’s record of delivering disaster response and preparedness tools for New Mexicans. Earlier this year, Rep. Vasquez led a successful push to pass the bipartisan Aerial Firefighting Enhancement Act of 2025, legislation to strengthen the aerial wildfire suppression fleet and better combat the year-round threat of catastrophic wildfire. The bill was signed into law by President Trump in June 2025.

Vasquez has pushed to improve disaster prevention and response at both the federal and local level, including:

• Working to improve Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and get funding to New Mexican communities in need, including sending a letter to DHS Secretary Noem to reverse a policy that requires personal approval on all projects over $100,000 — a policy that delayed critical aid after summer flooding in Ruidoso in 2025. 
• Supporting robust funding for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which supports critical support for wildfire, flooding and disaster response. 
• Securing $137 million in federal investments for wildfire recovery and flood mitigation in Southern New Mexico.
• Sponsoring the Fix Our Forests Act, legislation to restore forest health, increase resiliency to catastrophic wildfires, and protect New Mexican communities.
• Championing increased coordination between local leaders and emergency managers to ensure rural and Tribal communities are not left behind in response and mitigation efforts.
• Passing the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, which included multiple stormwater management projects across New Mexico, including a master stormwater management plan in Doña Ana and Otero Counties and authorization for a new dam in Hatch that would help prevent disasters like the major flood the community experienced in 2006.

Extreme weather has already cost the U.S. more than $2.7 trillion in damages since 1980, and FEMA estimates that every $1 spent on hazard mitigation saves $6 in future costs. By helping states and Tribes establish dedicated resiliency offices, the CLEAR Act ensures New Mexico and communities nationwide have the resources to withstand disasters and recover stronger.

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